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GetLegal opens the doors to its new Downtown Fort Worth headquarters this week. GetLegal’s new location is just north of I-30 in the Frost Bank Building of The Summit Office Park. Here is our new street and mailing address:

GetLegal maintains a family of websites that are among the most useful, informative, and reliable legal resources on the web. In addition to the award-winning website GetLegal.com, the company’s other sites include GetLegalTV and FuenteLegal. GetLegalTV highlights video content, while FuenteLegal features Spanish-language information on topics relating to U.S. law.

GetLegal also offers web marketing services for lawyers and law firms. Its products include website development, social media and online marketing tools, online directory listings, and online reputation management.

This month, GetLegal opened a West Coast office in San Francisco.
The office is located in the historic building at the corner of Golden Gate Avenue and Taylor Street, which also houses the Golden Gate Theatre. The West Coast office will focus on content development and editorial work. GetLegal’s editorial team develops content for the main GetLegal.com website, as well as GetLegal TV and FuenteLegal. GetLegalTV highlights video content, while FuenteLegal features Spanish-language translations of GetLegal’s most popular content.

John Gutierrez, GetLegal’s Editor-in-Chief, is based in San Francisco and oversees the creation of content by attorneys and legal writers. He is responsible for assuring that GetLegal’s content continues to be legally accurate and relevant to the GetLegal audience.

Mr. Gutierrez is an attorney licensed to practice in California, Texas, and Mississippi. He received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and a master’s degree in library and information studies from the University of California at Berkeley. He graduated from Brown University with a bachelor’s degree in American civilization. Before joining GetLegal, Mr. Gutierrez practiced law primarily in the areas of commercial litigation, real estate matters, and consumer class actions.

In addition to its award-winning legal information website, GetLegal offers web marketing strategies for lawyers and law firms. Its products include website development, social media and online marketing tools, online directory listings, and online reputation management.

Is it about Politics or is it about Market?

By now everyone has heard the remarks made by self-proclaimed “9 times billionaire” Donald Trump on his announcement for President when he was reported as saying derogatory things about Mexico and its people.

Most have heard of the swift reaction among corporations in severing their relationships with “The Donald”. Last week, the Spanish language network Univision announced it was dropping the Miss USA pageant from its broadcasts. Donald Trump owns the Miss Universe pageant which produces the Miss USA pageant. Yesterday, NBC which co-produced these pageants, announced that it was ending its relationship with Trump due to his comments made about Mexican immigrants. Televisa followed suit and today, Macy’s announced that it will phase out the Trump menswear collection which has been sold at Macy’s since 2004. In a statement Macy’s staid that “We are disappointed and distressed by recent remarks about immigrants from Mexico. We do not believe the disparaging characterizations portray and accurate picture of the many Mexicans, Mexican Americans and Latinos who have made so many valuable contributions to the success of our nations”.

Quickly Trumps defenders cried “Politics!” Ted Cruz, another candidate from the Republican nomination for President said that it was politics which led to NBC’s actions. Fox News anchor Sean Hannity also came to Trump’s defense citing “political correctness” as the reasons for these actions against Trump.

But is it politics? Or is it something else…… like the growing Hispanic market? One of the fastest growing demographic, the Hispanic population is now 50 million strong in the US and will reach 133 million by 2050. This consumer marketplace is growing in numbers regions and influence. This translates into $1.2 trillion in purchasing power. Coupled with the growth rate, this means Hispanics have money to spend on the brands they like and want.

NBC, Televisa and Macy’s may have seen the writing on the wall and know the math. $ 1.2 trillion is greater than 9 billion.

GetLegal.com, the Dallas-based provider of cutting edge online visibility and collaboration tools for attorneys and their prospective clients, has taken a significant step toward solidifying its access to and offerings for the Hispanic market across the United States. The company has announced the appointment of Philip D. Vasquez, Esq., as Senior VP of FuenteLegal.com, GetLegal’s sister site that serves the Hispanic community.

Mr. Vasquez, a licensed attorney, brings unparalleled experience to his new role with FuenteLegal.com. He has been a recognized leader of various Hispanic Bar Associations, having served as president of the Mexican American Bar Association of Texas and inducted as a Lifetime Member of the Hispanic National Bar Association. His involvement in the Hispanic community includes leadership roles in various Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, including a board position with the Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

“We are delighted that Philip Vasquez has joined our team,” said Jeffrey Rattikin, GetLegal.com’s President. “Mr. Vasquez brings a vast understanding of the Hispanic market for legal services, from the perspective of consumers as well as legal professionals. We are confident that, under his leadership, we will successfully accomplish our goal of becoming the premier provider of online legal information to the national Latino and Hispanic communities.”

A graduate of the University of Houston Law Center, with both a Juris Doctorate and a Masters in International Law, Mr. Vasquez has extensive experience in oil, petroleum and energy law. He was appointed by the President of the United States as Senior Policy Advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Defense on the oil and gas producing countries of Latin America, and as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the United States Department of Energy from 1998 until 2001.
Former U.S. Secretary of Energy and Governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson states: “Philip Vasquez is the right person to head up this important service to the Hispanic Community. Access to justice for the Hispanic Community has always been an important issue to me. I don’t believe there are many like Philip who has demonstrated commitment to the Hispanic Community in both the Legal Profession and Community Activism sides. I am confident he is the right person for the job.”

Todd Epp, a licensed attorney in Kansas and South Dakota, appreciates Vasquez’ numerous qualities: “[Vasquez] …is a born networker who is also sincere in the relationships he develops with others. His sense of humor, adaptability and openness to new people, places and ideas make him an ideal professional…” Epp adds: “As an attorney, Philip has a unique set of skills developed from his work representing hard-working people in Victoria, Texas, to the rigors of obtaining an advanced legal degree, to his work in the public and private sectors. Couple all this with his fluency in Spanish, his understanding of the legal needs of Hispanic citizens and his ability to relate to people from all walks of life. He is the perfect lawyer and person to help launch this service for those underserved by more traditional means.”

GetLegal.com, a wholly owned subsidiary of LawConnect, Inc., is a leading provider of online legal information, products and services for legal professionals and consumers. The company utilizes cutting edge technology to provide the most comprehensive, accessible, accurate and reliable source of legal information and content available online.

Introducing Catalyst™ Business Reputation Management Services

The Internet and Social Media have given a voice to millions, offering web visitors the opportunity to provide reviews on a multitude of products and services. Studies indicate that more and more consumers rely on online reviews to make consumer decisions. Unfortunately, it’s a highly unregulated marketplace allowing for easy manipulation of reviews, and consequently, reputation. That is, until now.

GetLegal.com and its partnership with Bazaarify, a highly regarded Silicon Valley company leading the way in reputation management, present Catalyst. This revolutionary product is a cutting edge business reputation management.

Bazaarify is a pioneer in the business reputation management industry, offering comprehensive services to companies nationwide. The company has built a highly successful and user-friendly product that identifies and monitors the Internet, responds to customer comments, solicits feedback in a timely manner, and shares positive reviews.

The GL Catalyst product offers a broad range of services to law firms across the country:

Ongoing monitoring and collection of reviews from all major social media websites, including Google, Yahoo, Angie’s List, Kudzu, Yelp, CitySearch, Avvo and Trip Advisor

Generation of new reviews from existing clients through timely, customized requests.

Mobile application for collecting client feedback, so that you can obtain immediate input, boosting you reputation.

The collection of customer e-mails via a mobile app, to be used for future marketing/reputation management requests.

The aggregation of all your reviews in a single place, including e-mail notification when new reviews are posted.

The ability to respond, and even hold back fake, false or slanderous reviews, so they do not appear on your website or social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter

The amplification of digital referrals from satisfied customers.

The ability to automatically highlight positive client reviews in search engines, on social media, and on your firm’s website.

The distribution of your positive reviews to over 140 million people nationwide.

Catalyst is a reputation management system that no other marketing partner can offer today. We are advising integration of Catalyst with all our client’s campaigns.
We are providing consultation and demo sessions exclusively for you now. Please contact us, and we will schedule this immediately.

Bronx Derailment Victim Seeks Compensation for Injuries With the Help of Attorney Michael Lamonsoff

Denise Williams, a dentist and retired Army colonel, injured in the Metro-North train derailment in the Bronx Sunday, has filed notice of claim against the commuter railroad. Her attorney is Michael Lamonsoff. Williams, who was on her way to a convention, suffered spine, collarbone and rib fractures after she was pinned inside an overturned car for about an hour, according to Lamonsoff.

“While she was … pinned down,” Lamonsoff told CNN Wednesday of his client, “there was a guy that, a chef who has cerebral palsy, he sat with her and prayed with her because they didn’t know if she would live or die and she was praying to live.”

The notice of claim is a necessary step before legal action can be filed against the railroad. It will be accused of negligence in the case, according to Lamonsoff. Due to state law, the suit will be filed against the railroad, not the engineer, William Rockefeller, who allegedly nodded off as the train sped into a sharp curve.

“Bottom line is the guy was going 82 mph in a 30 mph zone,” Lamonsoff said. He accused the railroad of being slow to implement positive train control technology, which combines GPS, wireless radio and computers to monitor trains and stop them from colliding or derailing.”

In 2008, Congress ordered rail lines to adopt the technology by December 2015. “We have GPS on cars, they should have GPS on the trains,” he said. “They have been stonewalling, they have until 2015, they have asked for extensions, they haven’t started any upgrades.”

Reuters News Service, citing a railroad union official, reports Rockefeller told federal investigators he “zoned out” shortly before the crash. Reuters also cites an unnamed source as saying the train had a safety system designed to keep its engineer alert, but it was not installed in the car from which he controlled the train.

Four people died and 67 others were injured, eleven critically, in the crash. So far, one other passenger has also filed a notice of claim against the railroad.

About Us

Our mission at GetLegal is to develop a family of sites that constitute the most useful, informative, reliable and exciting collection of legal resources on the web. We are constantly working to expand and improve many resources we offer to legal professionals and the public.